KOSPI Fails to Rebound, Declines for Sixth Consecutive Day as Foreign Investors Sell

The KOSPI index failed to rebound, continuing its decline for the sixth consecutive trading day. Despite a strong start with significant gains early in the session, the index was unable to maintain its momentum. Factors such as China's next-generation memory development, skepticism surrounding artificial intelligence (AI) investments, and interest rate hikes contributed to the downturn, leaving the KOSPI struggling compared to global markets. The trend of foreign investors exiting the Korean market persisted, with individual investors also joining the selling spree, barely holding onto the psychological support level of 6,000 points.

According to the Korea Exchange, the KOSPI closed at 6,008.81, down 0.44% from the previous trading day. The index opened at 6,062.08, attempting to recover from the previous day's sharp drop, and even reached a high of 6,190.65 during the session. However, as selling pressure from foreign and individual investors increased in the latter half of the day, the index fell to 5,944.65 before a slight recovery at the end of the session due to buying from institutions and financial investors. Foreign investors sold a net 1.173 trillion won, while individual investors, who had been net buyers for five consecutive days, turned to a net selling of 315.9 billion won. Institutions, financial investors, and other corporations recorded net purchases of 803.8 billion won, 516 billion won, and 685.2 billion won, respectively.

Samsung Electronics saw a sharp rise of 4.09% shortly after the market opened but ultimately closed unchanged at 232,000 won. SK Hynix ended the day down 1.66% at 141,900 won. Most of the top market capitalization stocks, including Hanmi Semiconductor (-5.02%), Hyundai Motor (-0.63%), Hanmi Pharm (-11.37%), SK Square (-0.82%), and HD Hyundai Electric (-3.75%), experienced declines compared to the previous trading day.

Key Reports

The U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) for September showed a year-over-year increase of 3.7%, surpassing both the previous month’s rate of 3.4% and market expectations of 3.6%. Month-over-month, the CPI rose by 0.6%, an increase from the previous month’s 0.4%. Core CPI also rose by 2.6% year-over-year, indicating persistent inflationary pressures that are not easing easily.

In the core inflation category, rising costs in housing and certain services and goods continued to exert upward pressure. Housing costs increased by 0.4% from the previous month, up from 0.3%. Specifically, rent growth remained relatively stable at 0.2%, while owner-occupied housing costs rose by 0.3%, and hotel and lodging prices increased by 2.0%, contributing to the overall rise in housing costs.

Major Announcements After Market Close (October 13)

Ascendo announced results of its capital increase or issuance of convertible bonds (self-disclosure).
Shinyoung Securities submitted an investment prospectus (bulk report).
Samsung Electronics filed a report on changes in major shareholders' stock ownership.

Fund Trends (as of October 12, excluding ETFs)

Domestic equity funds: -2.8444 trillion won
Overseas equity funds: -138.1 billion won

Today's Key Schedule (October 15)

Europe: Industrial Production (MoM) (August)

* This article has been translated by AI.